Six days after a testy meeting between United States President Donald Trump and South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, the U.S. Department of State issued an updated Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution warning for the country, citing a rise in crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.

“Violent crime is common and includes robbery, rape, carjacking and mugging,” the advisory reads.

Qantas has announced two new direct routes from Perth, to Johannesburg and to Auckland, from December 2025.

Already available to book, they add more than 155,000 seats in and out of Perth each year.

+ The inaugural Perth to Johannesburg flight is on December 7, 2025. QF65 will fly from Perth on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, with a flight time of about 11 hours, 15 minutes.

+

Africa Travel Week invites tourism leaders to WTM Africa’s Responsible Tourism Conference on April 9-10 at Cape Town International Conference Centre.

Africa Travel Week is calling on tourism professionals to participate in WTM Africa’s Responsible Tourism Conference, scheduled for April 9-10 at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC).

Led by Harold Goodwin, Managing

Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg reveals its exclusive Valentine’s Day offerings for 2025, inviting couples to celebrate love in one of the city’s most romantic settings. With an enchanting mix of breathtaking views, elegant dining, and indulgent spa experiences, Four Seasons has curated a suite of unforgettable events to honour the season of love in the grandest style.

Whether

While KwaZulu-Natal has indicated its desire to open up to investment in all-inclusive resorts (such as South Africa's first Club Med on the North Coast and Blue Marlin All-Inclusive Seascape, which recently opened on the South Coast), there are questions about the accessibility of these resorts for foreign tourists. To make these resorts truly attractive to the international community, KZN needs

SAA's first direct flight between Johannesburg and Lubumbashi departed OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) and landed at Luano International Airport (FBM) on Monday 4 November.

Airbus The A320 took off from Johannesburg at 10:50 and landed in Lubumbashi just over three hours later.

New route schedule of five weekly flights from Monday to Friday, caters for both direct and connecting

Emirates is expanding its services to South Africa with the launch of an additional daily flight to Johannesburg.

The airline will introduce a fourth daily flight on the route from 1 March 2025, bringing flight numbers back to the pre-pandemic level of 49 flights per week.

Flight EK768 will depart Johannesburg at 10:15 and arrive in Dubai at 20:15. Return flight EK767 will depart

The popular London-Cape Town route has just become busier with the arrival of Norse Atlantic Airways' first flight into the city on Tuesday 29 October.

Thrice-weekly seasonal flights will compete with permanent British flights Airways and seasonal Virgin Atlantic flights.

The sold-out flight landed late in Cape Town as the pilot took passengers on a scenic tour of the city before

Air Seychelles adds a fourth weekly flight to Johannesburg ahead of the busy festive season.

To meet growing demand, the carrier will add a fourth flight on Saturdays from 21 December to 4 January 2025. The return flight will also operate on Saturdays.

Flight HM1060 departs Johannesburg at 23:30 and arrives in Mahe at 06:15 the next day. Return flight HM1061 departs Mahe at 16:55

Air Tanzania has announced that it will begin flying five weekly flights to Johannesburg from November 30.

Flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on the airline's Boeing 737 aircraft with 165 economy class seats and 16 business class seats.

Flight TC209 from Johannesburg will depart at 14:15 and arrive at Julius Nyerere International Airport

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced significant changes to its Norwegian Dawn cruises to southern Africa in November.

The 12-night cruises originally scheduled to stop in Madagascar and Reunion have been adjusted , and the changes will affect each port of call on at least two voyages.

The ship's departure from Cape Town on November 26 will include the following changes:

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) will return to South African waters in November to kick off a new cruise season, this time offering itineraries on two ships: Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Sky, making its maiden voyage to South Africa.

“NCL has a variety of 11-21 day itineraries available to launch between November 2024 and May 2025, departing from Cape Town or Port Louis, Mauritius,” said

Travel to South Africa just got a little easier. South Africa will reform its strict visa policy to make it easier for skilled workers to travel and boost tourism, according to recent news reports. This was announced by South African Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.

The move is a significant departure from previous immigration practices, which have been heavily criticized. Significant

The City of Cape Town has confirmed that bookings for the Steenbras River Gorge and Crystal Pools Hiking Trail will only open on 1 November for this hiking season.

The city recorded unusually high amounts of rainfall in a short period last winter . Water levels have risen significantly on the Steenbras River Gorge and Crystal Pools hiking trails, allowing the Steenbras Nature Reserve team

Future Found Sanctuary, part of the Newmark Hotels and Reserves portfolio, has launched a new range of retreat packages.

The hotel, located in Hout Bay on the slopes of Table Mountain, claims to be the first and only five-star recovery holiday destination destinations in Cape Town.

The new Reset Retreat package will be a two-night stay that begins with a sage energizing smudging,

RwandAir will suspend flights between Kigali and Cape Town.

According to a travel alert issued by the airline, flights will be suspended from October 27.

The airline did not provide a reason suspension.

South African Tourism (SAT) released its tourism statistics for January-June at the National Tourism Stakeholder Forum at NH Johannesburg Sandton on 5 September. It shows international tourism is yet to return to 2019 levels, while domestic tourism is down slightly from 2023 levels over the half-year.

Melusi Mngomezlu, general manager of data analytics at South African Tourism, said the

The luxury Johannesburg boutique hotel, 10 2nd Avenue in the Houghton Estate, will come under the management of Dream Hotels & Resorts from 1 October.

“Dream Hotels is pleased to welcome another property under its umbrella in Gauteng,” said Chris Snyman, Director of Development at Dream Hotels. “10 2nd Avenue fits perfectly into our diverse fabric, and we look forward to reimagining

Hoteliers expect a strong conference pipeline for Sandton, including securing next year's G20 summit, to provide a much-needed boost to lower average room rates (ARR) in the county.

According to data Smith Travel Research January-May five-star hotels in "Africa's richest square mile" faced ARRs that were well below the national average and 23% below pre-COVID-19 levels. Sandton's ARR of

New Gabonese carrier FlyGabon has said it intends to begin operations from its Libreville hub on August 31, according to industry publication Aviation Week.

The airline will initially launch flights domestically, but has signaled its desire to to fly international routes before the end of this year, with Johannesburg being a key target.

The Government of Gabon has acquired a